Henry Braid Wilson, Jr. (23 February 1861 – 30 January 1954) was an admiral in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Biography

Wilson was a native of Camden, New Jersey. He joined the United States Navy in the latter part of the nineteenth century and continued to serve for over forty years. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1881, His assignments included duties as commanding officer of the USS ''North Dakota'', inspector,

senior inspector Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

and president of the

Board of Inspection and Survey The Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) is a United States Navy organization whose purpose is to inspect and assess the material condition of U.S. Navy vessels. The Board is currently headquartered at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virgin ...

from November 1913 until May 1916, and commanding officer of the (BB-38) in 1916. During

, he served as commander, Patrol Forces, Atlantic Fleet and then commander, U.S. Naval Forces,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. After the World War he served as Commander-In-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet 1919–1921, Commander-In-Chief of the U.S. Battle Fleet and later superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy 1921–1925. Two notable students of his at the academy were cadets and future Admiral

Hyman G. Rickover Hyman G. Rickover (January 27, 1900 – July 8, 1986) was an admiral in the U.S. Navy. He directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of the U.S. Naval Reactors offic ...

, class of 1922, and Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, class of 1923. Wilson retired in 1925, following forty-four years of service. Wilson died in 1954 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

; at the time of his death he was the oldest living admiral of the

. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

. Wilson's son-in-law was Hoover Administration

United States Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

and Major General Patrick J. Hurley.

Medals and commendations

Namesake and honors

* USS Henry B. Wilson (DDG-7), a guided missile destroyer, was named for him. *A portion of

U.S. Route 30 in New Jersey U.S. Route 30 (US 30) is a U.S. highway running from Astoria, Oregon east to Atlantic City, New Jersey. In the U.S. state of New Jersey, US 30 runs from the Benjamin Franklin Bridge at the Delaware River in Camden, Camden County wh ...

passing through Camden, New Jersey, Admiral Wilson Boulevard.

References

History of the Fleet Forces Command, formerly the U.S. Atlantic Fleet
*INSERV President

*US Navy Biography of Admiral Henry B. Wilso

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Henry B. 1861 births 1954 deaths People from Camden, New Jersey United States Naval Academy alumni American military personnel of the Spanish–American War United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Superintendents of the United States Naval Academy Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Military personnel from New Jersey